Learn how to make the perfect Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (+Gravy) with these simple tips that will flavor your chicken from the inside out. These are the most flavorful and juicy pressure cooker chicken breasts.

With the help of your electric pressure cooker, you can have these amazingly flavorful and juicy chicken breasts on the dinner table – and there’s even some gravy to top it all off!

My game plan for making these Instant Pot Chicken Breasts extra delicious? Flavor them right from the get go. I like to rub them with lots of yummy spices – oregano, cumin, paprika – and then brown them on both sides use the SAUTE setting. The spices (especially the paprika) and that browning step really give these chicken breasts that beautiful color. If you skipped these steps, your chicken breasts would basically look liked boiled chicken – they would still taste good, but would totally be lacking that golden color. You can definitely skip the browning step if you’re making shredded chicken (see below), but I like to get those flavors going from the start.

Another way I’m making my Instant Pot Chicken Breasts extra flavorful is by cooking them with beer. Filling the pot with a cup of pilsner or lager really gives them a great flavor, it also makes some pretty amazing gravy. However, if you’d prefer not to use alcohol, you can also use water. I’ve also read that pineapple juice makes a great cooking liquid, however I’m guessing that would make for some pretty strange tasting gravy at the end if you’re going that route.

And, although I love to eat these Instant Pot Chicken Breasts for dinner, with that golden, delicious gravy spooned on top, I also love to just leave them plain, and use them for meal prep. I’ll cube up the chicken breasts and add them to salads and grain bowls throughout the week. It’s such an easy way to sneak in a bit of protein.

Here are some uses for your Instant Pot Chicken Breasts:

Can I cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot?

You can definitely cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot. The cooking time remains the same, but it will take longer for the pressure to build in the Instant Pot, about 15 minutes vs. 10 minutes.

How do I make gravy in the Instant Pot?

Making gravy in the Instant Pot is super simple! Once you’ve removed the chicken breasts from the pot, hit CANCEL and then press the SAUTE button. Bring those yummy cooking liquids up to a simmer while you make a slurry of water and cornstarch. Add that to the pot and let it thicken up the gravy – it will take about 3-5 minutes, depending on how thick you like it.

Can I make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot?

Yep! To make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot, increase the cooking time to 10 minutes (vs. 5 minutes). You can skip the gravy step in this recipe. Instead, add the chicken to a large bowl with 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and shred with two forks. Or, use the paddle attachment of your mixer to shred the chicken.

Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (+Gravy)

Course: Main Dish - Chicken

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken breasts, instant pot, pressure cooker

Prep Time:5minutes

Cook Time:10minutes

Time for pressure to build and release:20minutes

Total Time:30minutes

Servings:3people

Calories:378kcal

Author:Erin

Learn how to make the perfect Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (+Gravy) with these simple tips that will flavor your chicken from the inside out. These are the most flavorful and juicy pressure cooker chicken breasts.

Gravy:

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the salt and spices with 1 Tablespoon oil to create a paste. Coat chicken breasts with the paste.

Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and heat the oil. Once hot, add the chicken breasts.

Brown the chicken on both sides (2-3 minutes per side) then remove it from the Instant Pot.

Add beer to the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Place the trivet in the Instant Pot and return the chicken to the Instant Pot on top of the trivet. Hit the CANCEL button.

Cover and seal the lid - turn the vent to sealing. Press the MANUAL (high pressure) button and set the timer to 5 minutes (10 minutes for shredded chicken). It will take about 10 minutes for Instant Pot to come to full pressure, then the display will show a countdown timer.

Once the 5 minutes are up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 8 minutes (10 minutes for larger chicken breasts), then release any remaining pressure.

Remove chicken from the pot and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving to allow the juices to redistribute.

Gravy:

Combine the water and cornstarch and mix until smooth.

Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and bring the cooking liquids to a simmer then add the water-cornstarch mixture. Cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For Shredded Chicken:

Skip the gravy step. Instead, add the chicken to a large bowl with 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and shred with two forks. Or, use the paddle attachment of your mixer to shred the chicken.

Recipe Notes

*** The cook time of 5 minutes works perfectly for average sized 6-ounce chicken breasts. For larger chicken breasts, increase the cook time by 1-2 minutes.

If you loved this recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Breasts I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your “plating and pairing” and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (+Gravy)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 378Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Cholesterol 144mg48%

Sodium 1042mg43%

Potassium 852mg24%

Total Carbohydrates 4g1%

Protein 48g96%

Vitamin A4.6%

Vitamin C3.3%

Calcium1.7%

Iron6.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Wine Pairings for Chicken:

A Viognier or unoaked Chardonnay would pair nicely with these chicken breasts.

If you would like to go the red route, I’d suggest a Pinot Noir, or other light bodied red. Avoid hard, oaky tannic reds and they can overwhelm the delicate flavors of the chicken.

47 comments

I am going to try this scrumptious dish and let you know how I make out. I have never heard of an instant pot. We buy our chicken from an Amish market and it is so delicious and we don’t have to do any special treatment for it to be tasty and moist. I’ll cook right on stove, maybe use my Lodge cast iron skillet!

Oh my goodness! This recipe is so delicious! I doubled the amount of chicken, used two tablespoons of olive oil and double the spices for the paste, stuck the paste and chicken in a Ziploc and smooshed it all over the breasts. I put one cup of beer (Blue Moon was what I had in the fridge) & half cup water in before returning the chicken to the pot. At the end I had to put in double the slurry amount to thicken it! So delicious!

Hi. I’m new to IP. I thought I did everything per instructions and chicken came out like rubber sorry to say. I think I should not have split the breasts. They were probably too small. Also I had it in the “normal” high pressure setting. Did you use low setting? I have IP Duo 60. I’m sure it was me. Your recipe did make great gravy. That was good. I did the natural release 8 mins and let it sit 5 mins. I will try again with breasts unsplit. Trying to get them juicy not steamed consistency. Also if I had only two breasts still 5 mins. Thank you !

FINALLY the perfect recipe for moist and flavourful chicken breasts in the Instant Pot! Last night was my third time cooking chicken breasts in the IP and I was so nervous since they always came out overcooked and dry.

Frozen breasts (larger than 6oz) sautéed for 2 mins on each side, high pressure for 6 mins and natural release for 10mins = MAGIC. Erin you are my hero and made my weekly meal prep SO much better!

Hi Erin – I just bought an 8-quart Intant Pot and I would like to try your recipe. Does the size of the IP make a difference in the cooking times or anything else in your recipe? I have 6 chicken breasts to cook. Thanks for your advice. Lisa

We really liked it and it came out moist. The gravy was okay but just felt lacking in something. Next time I will try putting chicken broth instead of the water and see if that make a difference. We put this on a bed of rice and put the gravy on the rice as well. I will say I loved how quick this was to make though and the vegetable oil mixed in with the seasoning was smart as it stuck to the chicken which did not stick to the pot.

This was my first recipe using my new IP – and it turned out great! Chicken was moist and super flavorful. Served with quinoa and kale with gravy on top. Yum! Looking forward to exploring more of your recipes. Thanks.

I made this last night. I loved how I could sauté in the same pan. I appreciated the detail instructions as I’m new to my insta pot and I’m still not comfortable with it. I coulked mine frozen slightly thawed, no problem. I couldn’t get my insta pot to release the pressure, so I’ll skip the long story. But I can only imagine how much better it would have been if I could have removed them exactly when they should have been.

Made this tonight and it was my first time cooking chicken breasts in my new instant pot. It turned out GREAT!!! I was a bit worried because I didn’t measure the seasonings and the gravy had a very heavy cumin aroma, but it tasted just right and we all loved it! I made it with baked sweet potatoes and green beans. Will definitely be making again!

Made this tonight with baked sweet potatoes (in the oven) and green beans. It was my first time making chicken bread in my new instant pot and it turned out GREAT!!! I was a little worried about the gravy because I didn’t measure the seasonings and it smelled heavily of cumin, but it tasted perfect and we all loved it! Will definitely be making this again! Thank you for sharing!

Hello, Im a single dad, new to cooking and new to the instant pot. I have to say I followed your directions and ended up with a great meal that me and the kids really enjoyed. We’ll definitely be eating this again! Thank you so much!!

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